Analysis of Energy from Waste scenarios

Energy from Waste CHP: Examining the overall efficiency from the plant and how this changes with sacrificing some electricity for local heat sales.

Typically, one sacrifices 1 unit of electricity for every 4 units of heat gain. Thus, higher heat off takes and sales offered better efficiencies, higher WFD Annex 2 and CHPQA factors, as well as more CO2 mitigation compared with all-electric. But it’s only a gain if the heat can be usefully exported or used.

It is one thing to talk about heat-exports or developing a market with existing and future developments, etc, it’s quite another to “walk the talk”. This is where heat-mapping and dialogue with some of the larger and more promising potential heat-users comes in (see main menu for information on EFW and heat mapping).

Until recently, the economics from the different heat-power scenarios were difficult to assess, largely because it was not clear what the Renewable Heat Incentives (RHI) for exported heat would be. This was announced earlier in 2011 (click here for more).